But for gas supply challenges, which constrained over 3,321 Mega Watts (MW) of electricity, the nation’s total electricity generation would have hit 7,529MW in the last one month.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, says about 326.8 million standard cubic feet, MSCF, per day of gas was supplied to gas-fired power plants in the country in June.
The Chairman, National Association of Energy Correspondent (NAEC), Yusuf Yunus (left); and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria LNG Limited, Babs Omotowa; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, acting Managing Director, Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC),Chiedu Agbo, at the NAEC yearly conference in Lagos.
The recent militant attacks on oil and gas facilities may have prompted the Federal Government to look towards developing alternative sources of gas supply for power generation in the country.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with several Chinese firms for over $80 billion new investments, spanning five years, in the oil and gas industry covering pipelines, refineries, gas and power, facility refurbishments and upstream financing.
Gas supply to electricity plants in Nigeria has dropped from the 686mmscfd it recorded in April to 541mmscfd in May, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Africa’s richest man and owner of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has said that ongoing $17 billion Gas pipeline, fertiliser, petrochemicals and refineries project at the Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ), Lagos, would provide unhindered availability of petrol in the country. He pointed out the the Gas pipeline when completed would also generate power for the country.
The delay in the construction of the multibillion dollar upstream gas supply projects to feed Chevron’s Agura Power Plant, ExxonMobil’s Qua Iboe Power Plant and Total’s Obite Power Plant has delayed the projects, which were conceived by the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo as part of the efforts to monetise Nigeria’s gas resources, reduce flaring and boost electricity generation.
Former President, Cheif Olusegun Obasanjo, has revealed that the refusal of international oil companies (IOCS) to convert gas to power contributed to the deteriorated state of electricity in the country.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday held two separate meetings over the recent blowing up of pipelines conveying crude oil and gas and threatening the operations of two of the nation’s refineries and power plants.Nigeria’s gas-to-power aspirations may be inching closer to realisation as the Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (TEPNG) declared that its $5.7 billion Oil Mining Licence (OML58) upgrade projects would churn out massive gas supply by July 2016.
For Nigeria to properly fix the challenges bedevilling its energy sector, the nation requires about $ 900 billion to further develop the sector over the next 30 years.
The nation’s power generation is significantly being limited by gas constraints, a development that has driven down electricity supply to households and businesses across the country.
President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the restructuring of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) into seven new divisions, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, announced on Tuesday at a press briefing in Abuja.
